McMullen's Corner: Week 1 Belonged to Jalen Hurts, Who Carried His New Coordinator

PHILADELPHIA - The first Eagles Sunday of the Sean Mannion era did not belong to the rookie play-caller. It belonged to the quarterback who has now won six straight season openers.

Philadelphia escaped Washington’s new aggressive defense under Daronte Jones, 24-22, because Jalen Hurts kept meeting moments the much-ballyhooed new offense could not manufacture on its own.

Four three-and-outs. Seven of the first nine drives failing to cross midfield. Long stretches that looked uncomfortably like the 2025 version of the offense that forced head coach Nick Sirianni to shift away from his friend and long-time confidante Kevin Patullo.

Those are the numbers that defined Mannion’s debut as coordinator. The statistics that headlined the win were Hurts’: 14-of-25 passing for 203 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers, and a 22-yard scramble on third-and-18 that set up the decisive score.

That scramble was the clearest illustration of Hurts’ brilliance and it was completely unscripted.

The pocket collapsed, the play design evaporated, and Hurts simply ran through the wreckage. It was not a designed quarterback draw from the new Shanahan/McVay-inspired menu. It was the same player who has been bailing out coordinators at Lincoln Financial Field for years.

Hurts’ best throws followed a similar pattern: the 64-yard strike to Dontayvion Wicks, and a 31-yard sideline ball to DeVonta Smith. Vertical shots delivered by one of the best deep-ball throwers in the NFL, not a sudden fluency in the new timing and under-center rhythm that was supposed to be on display.

"You could say any person and then fill in the blank -- what makes [DT] Jalen Carter good at taking a football, being able to knock the ball away? What makes [LB] Zack Baun a good tackler? What makes Jalen Hurts a good deep ball thrower? What makes [WR] DeVonta Smith a good pass catcher? There's no secret to this. It's the work. It's the work. It's the work that they put in," Sirianni said when asked by Eagles On SI about Hurts' deep-ball acumen.

"Jalen has worked extremely hard at that portion of his game," the coacj continued. "He really can throw. He just puts the ball on the money in those situations, which helps you be explosive. On the first one to Tay, the one to DeVonta, he's worked at it. Obviously, highly talented person and a highly talented football player, but there is no secret to this. The plays that are made on Sunday were made because of the work that was put in in OTAs, in the offseason, in training camp. That happens Wednesday through Friday. There is no secret there. It takes what it takes and he's worked his [butt] off on that."

Elevating An Evaluation

Jul 30, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion looks on during training camp at Jefferson Health Training Complex. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mannion received the expected polite reviews afterward. Sirianni praised the operation and the balance. Hurts himself was gracious, noting the joy on his coordinator’s face after a first win as a play-caller. That is the correct locker-room response.

It is not the right evaluation of what actually happened on the field.

The scheme flashed a few open receivers and some zone-run concepts that Saquon Barkley used well. It also stalled repeatedly, put the quarterback under consistent pressure, and required Hurts to solve problems the call sheet could not.

Growing pains should be expected. So is the gap between a first-time coordinator’s first game plan and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s ability to impose himself when the plan frays.

"Yeah, but it's not something that's forced," Hurts said when asked about the timing of imposing himself in games. "It's the same focus that you have throughout the whole entire game. It's the same poise that you play with throughout the whole entire game. And so, it goes back to all 11 being on the same page and then me taking responsibility and the opportunities I have with the ball in my hand."

Ironically, Hurts has a back and forth with [Former NFL Quarterback & FOX Analyst] Tom Brady during a production meeting during the week.

"Talking about this on a production meeting leading up to the game with Brady. When you're playing a position, a lot of it is about making sure you're in the right play, when you're doing the right thing that takes no talent. Are we in the best run? Are we protecting ourselves in protection? Is everybody aligned doing those little things first? That is the most important thing. It's more of an operation and being able to set the table and manage the things you're tasked with managing as a quarterback and then all the other things are to come. I ended on the note of it taking all 11. It takes all 11.

"There are going to be times when you could ask [Eagles RB] Saquon [Barkley] that same very question. I remember vividly him taking an outside zone, cutting back and kind of closing the game versus Washington two years ago. That's him taking over and making a play. It’s just about meeting the moment when your opportunity comes."

Moving forward the offense will get cleaner. The communication between booth and field will tighten. Mannion will get better.

However, in Week 1, the Eagles won because their quarterback elevated a new coordinator, not because the flavor of the month suddenly unlocked a quarterback who already knew how to win more than any QB in franchise history.

The rest of the season will test whether the scheme can start carrying more of the load. Sunday showed who was still doing the heavy lifting.

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